Tag: Coconut Oil

One of my favorite add-ons is the Asian Pack! It always gives me the excuse to make up a big batch of stir fry. Today I wanted to do something different. Why not egg rolls! Simple enough, as all I needed were the wrappers. These egg rolls receive their heat from the dried Chiles de árbol in the pack. The coconut kiss, is a result of the rolls being fried in Bountiful Baskets scented organic Coconut Oil. Trust me, my house smelled amazing all day! Continue reading “Spicy Coconut Kissed Egg Rolls with Dipping Sauce Trio”

One of the things that happens the night before Basket Day is using up the remnants of whatever is left in the veggie drawer in the fridge. One of the easiest things to do (and currently one of our favorites) is to go Indian – with a veggie tikka masala.Continue reading “Vegetable Tikka Masala”

The tropical pack is one of my favorites. I open it and the smell immediately transports me to far off beaches filled with refreshing flavors and cool breezes. I will admit though, it is also one of the most intimidating packs for me. Each item seems like it takes special knowledge and intense preparation. In my house, the coconut has often gone to waste (let’s share a moment of silence for the untimely loss of a coconut). The pineapple, kiwi, and mango generally end up tossed in a smoothie (yum- but snore). And the rest of the stuff usually gets incorporated into my weekly meals ending up in a less-than-tropical-flavor. I don’t know about you but using the tropical pack limes to make Southwest Ranch Dressing just seems wrong (although the dressing is SO good- but that’s for a different post). Continue reading “A Visit to the Tropics…Via Cake!”

A few months ago, I contributed for the soft white wheat berries on a whim. I had never ground my own wheat and didn’t even own a device that would do it. I read that you could eat it like oatmeal in the morning or in tabbouleh salad so I was convinced that I would find fabulous things to do with them. Continue reading “Wheat Berry Snacks”

Watching a good movie while enjoying a homemade pizza is a common occurrence in our house and since no picky eating is allowed it’s easy to try different toppings with success.

One of our favorite movies is Secondhand Lions. It’s the story of a young boy who gets uprooted to live with relatives he doesn’t know and the adventures that follow. Since this movie takes place in Texas and because we’re in Texas it made sense to create a pizza using leftover brisket. After all, there is nothing like Texas brisket! Hope you enjoy the movie and the pizza as much as we did.

Steve Jones is a fellow Photographer and PhotoTips Member and Mentor. If you check out his images you will see that he is a renowned Star Trails (Night Sky) and Avian (Bird) Photographer. He is also an amazing chef! http://www.sjlarue.com/

Looking for a new and unique way to fix your butternut squash from this week’s basket?

Try Garam Masala Butternut Squash Soup. It’s a slighly spicy, different twist on traditional squash soups. Garam Masala is a mixed spice used commonly in Indian dishes. Garam Masala can be purchased pre-mixed or made on your own. See the bottom of a previous blog post for how to make your own garam masala if you cannot find it commercially.

Last night, my son had a serious cookie craving. Too bad I had almost no cookie-making ingredients! I decided that I would try a flourless, low sugar oatmeal cookie (mostly because I had no flour and hardly any sugar), and after discovering I was out of raisins, I substituted dried apple pieces. The result was a crispy, yummy, oatmeal cookie full of autumn flavors. My 4 year old devoured the cookies and I loved that they’re pretty healthy, for cookies. And they gained their unique moniker because I can’t type on my smartphone. I was typing the recipe up on Facebook, and oil became oik. My sister decided there was no other name for them. If you want to give them a try, here’s the recipe:Continue reading “Oik Cookies”

The last two months have brought about great changes in my kitchen. We have recently discovered that many of my 7-year-old’s chronic pain issues are due to numerous, severe allergies- both food and environmental. I was already committed to having a “non-processed” pantry and she was already gluten-free so I thought I had the home-cooking lifestyle down pat. But the discovery of allergies to all grains, many fruits and vegetables, and to other basics including olive oil and raw local honey, really set my mind whirling. So much of what I thought was healthy was in fact hurting her. Though I was truly grateful to finally get some answers for my girl I felt depressed, overwhelmed, and totally ill equipped for the task at hand. But, being a somewhat plucky, hard-to-keep-down kind of gal, I quickly got over my pity party and did the best thing I could do. I started to research and started to get into the kitchen and experiment.Continue reading “Cuckoo For CoCoNut (Oil that is)”